I am a wild PM in a second-tier city. This article is a summary of user experience since I was a product manager. Welcome to discuss.
But based on my own knowledge, I have no intention of competing for superiority or inferiority. After all, looking back at the first article now, although I personally feel that it is helpful for beginners, it is really written very low.
Simplicity is paramount, not to help users make decisions, but to make them easier to make decisions
When it comes to user experience, the first reaction of most product managers is WeChat and Apple devices. Therefore, when designing products, everyone will adopt the method of imitating their UI and interaction to reduce design costs and improve work efficiency.
There is nothing wrong with this in itself. After all, these are two products that can cultivate user habits. If they have the same interaction method in the same scene, users can basically follow the habit to proceed to the next step.
But there are just a few people who just copy it no matter what. For example, the deletion mentioned above, the deletion in many places of WeChat uses the same side-slide and pull out hidden delete button as Apple, and deletes after clicking. I met a boss who was dissatisfied with the deletion method in the order system. He thought the delete button occupied the grid and looked intrusive, and it was too troublesome to confirm after clicking delete, so he asked to change the order deletion method to delete with the WeChat chat list Same way and don’t confirm.
Even if I use the design of WeChat to tell him that WeChat still has a confirmation process, it is no match for his justification: “Since the user swipes sideways to see the deletion and clicks it, it means that he wants to delete it.” I What if it is mishandled? The answer was: “Users should be responsible for their own actions!” At that time, four big characters popped up in my heart: big brother, domineering!
Do you guys think this is the end? Yeah, I thought that was the end of it too. Until he saw the way…the way…the way…the way…the iPhone deletes the call history…(here, let me let myself go and cycle 100 times).
Many product decision-makers often say: “The product must have bright spots, and it must be convenient, practical, and as simple as possible for users to use…” But in practice, it is “this page has too little content, this You can also add some XXXX to let users see more things, make more pop-up windows to reduce user access levels…” and so on.
“The product must have bright spots, and it must be convenient, practical, and as simple as possible for users to use…” There is nothing wrong with this sentence itself, but why did it become “this page has too little content, this You can also add some XXXX to allow users to see more things, and make more pop-up windows to reduce user access levels…” What?
Because the first sentence is based on the user’s needs, and the second sentence in the implementation process is based on the self-feeling of the user’s needs (more because I don’t know what the user wants and panic) ), so it led to the opposite without knowing it.
Recently, I read less and less things on Zhihu, because I don’t know what I do, so Zhihu pushed me more than N questions and answers about the three-body problem and science fiction. I really haven’t read the Three-Body Problem. I accidentally clicked on a question related to the Three-Body Problem. I don’t know why it was pushed to me. Then I clicked on it by mistake and read a few answers. I have plans to buy the Three-Body Problem).
My hobbies are very wide, so broad that there are almost no hobbies at all, politics, history, finance, sports, literature, film and television, music, games, jokes, clothing, small handicrafts, wool, etc., as long as the answer is wonderful, I want take a look!
Taking “Three-Body Problem” as an example, can we do this: If you click on the first time and read more than one answer (some answers are very exciting and longer, the reading time will be longer) and the effective browsing time (page change) exceeds a certain Time (for example, 3 minutes), I will occasionally push a question and answer related to the three-body problem (otherwise it will not be pushed), and if I click on it for the second push and read it the same as the first time, I will add a little bit The number of pushes, I clicked on the third push and read it again, and it was still the same as the first time I browsed…
Then every N consecutive questions and answers (for example, 10) do not click on the topic related to the three-body problem, and reduce some pushes, is it possible? Give me a chance to not be massacred by the three-body version of the question and answer, okay? !
In addition, if the N questions (such as 20) that the user browses continuously are not repetitive, then he will be randomly pushed to Zhihu Hot Questions and Answers. No matter what the user preference is, at least once a day randomly push Zhihu hot questions and answers and once a current hot topic, can you give everyone a chance to choose again? It’s useless, okay?
Human beings are extremely complex, and cognition will change with time, place and environment at any time. If a product only stays at the first cognition of users, it will soon be abandoned by users.
Time is money, although it only applies to a small number of people, but time is meaningful to everyone (even if it is a waste), so when the user’s time consumed by the product exceeds what the user needs, the user You will start to have bad feelings about the product.
The product serves the needs of users, so the product should play the role of a housekeeper or secretary. When a user encounters a problem and comes to you, what he needs is a “satisfactory” solution, and then decides whether to solve it according to this solution.
Become friends with users, you will be more competitive
When I was bored, I wrote some ideas in “A Dialogue between Two R-level Product Managers”, which was not published, and then I deleted it myself and don’t remember what it is:
Q: Why are people from the Northeast so good at talking?
A: Since ancient times, it has been a world of ice and snow, what else can you do if you stay at home and don’t chatter?
Q: Alipay has always wanted to do social networking, why can’t it do it?
A: You can see how rich its homepage is.
Q: What do you think of Luo Yonghao’s TNT?
A: Open your mouth at the beginning, all your equipment depends on blowing, go out for a PK, what the hell? !
Q: Why did BBA start to go to the low-end market?
A: Face is not important.
Q: Why do more and more people prefer to buy low-end BBA rather than high-end models of other brands?
A: Face is very important.
Q: Is face important?
A: It depends on how much your face is worth.
…
The reason why I mentioned the above is because everyone will have a moment to hope to chat or complain, especially in a tense environment. It is precisely because of this that Bytedance came out. Lots of hits. Pleasure, this is an implicit demand of users, and it is something that many products do not consider when designing.
Many products will make portraits of their users. When we continue to make three-dimensional user portraits, can we consider giving users some surprises inadvertently, such as the login page design of bilibili.
Once upon a time, when I was a quality administrator of the ISO9001 quality management system, I only used QQ instead of WeChat, because I thought that one communication tool was enough, why use so many?
But in the end my QQ was replaced by my WeChat. The general trend is only one aspect. What I want to talk about is another aspect: QQ has more friends, classmates, colleagues and some strangers, while WeChat has my relatives, some Their one-acre three-point land (circle of friends) allows me to keep in touch with them.
(Speaking of the circle of friends, I have to say a digression: the details determine success or failure, and the same QQ space is defeated by the circle of friends due to the insufficient status given (the entry level is not the highest))
Products serve people, whether you are toC or toB, the ultimate users or decision makers are people (for example, does DingTalk serve enterprises? No, DingTalk serves managers, Because they have the final say on whether to use it or not, and only if they think it is easy to use can the value of DingTalk be reflected), so when the product has temperature, can communicate with users, and even become friends with users, whether our products are Competitive with other products?
Look at the past “pro”, the message wall of the milk tea shop, the message stickers of the takeaway and the online store, etc. Why are the promotional methods so useful? Because there is a sense of intimacy as a friend!
Art comes from life, online comes from offline
Since the rise of takeaway, the design related to ordering is basically the display method of classification on the left + additional purchase on the right. When I used this design for the first time, I was not used to it (after all, I have developed the operating habit for many years), but some people around me who are not very good at online shopping can use it very smoothly. I didn’t quite understand why until I went to eat it once. Lanzhou Ramen discovered that this design is really amazing.
Does this design refer to the display method of dine-in ordering to the mobile terminal? What kinds of food are there under the XXX category, how much is the price, and what are the specifications. And does the entire ordering process correspond to the offline scene one by one? Look at the categories on the wall, food names, prices and specifications (menu page), and then tell the clerk what you need and the quantity specifications (additional purchase payment), the order is over, just find a seat and wait for the waiter to serve the food (delivery).
So many designs are actually derived from life, but not everyone can evolve them to terminal operations.
Let’s go back to the menu page of the merchant. When faced with many choices, the user hopes that someone can provide him with a reference, but he does not need to help him make a decision. Therefore, regarding the evolutionary direction of the menu page, I personally think that Douyin may be a good choice. After all, there are too many users with difficulty in choosing, maybe they click when they see the right one, but there is a hidden danger, that is, they forget to click after looking at it (/cover their faces).
Many ERP projects in the manufacturing industry start from the company’s organizational structure, and realize the management of the entire company by programming the functions of each department. Life is the best teacher. It has already perfected the operating procedures of many offline physical industries, and it is only waiting for those who want to bring these industries online to learn and evolve.
The ultimate user experience is freedom
Mr. Zhang Xiaolong once said: A good product is one that is ready to go when it is used up, that is, I will leave when it is used up. Maybe this is not the first time you have heard this word. A good product is not sticking to the user, but trying to make the user leave your product, do you agree?
Those who agree are without serious consideration, because I believe that everyone’s work is focused on one point, how to stick to users, how to make users stay in my product as much as possible, and not leave the product.
No matter what stage a product is in, user stickiness is an important indicator of product pursuit, and it can give companies and investors hope and confidence. The higher the user stickiness, the higher the user’s loyalty, the higher the user’s loyalty means that the product has higher value for these users, and the higher value for the user can reflect the value of this product, and the company wants to What is the value of this product (whether it is current value or potential value).
When I heard Mr. Zhang Xiaolong say for the first time that “a good product is ready to go after use”, I felt that I suddenly opened up a new world, which makes sense! When I heard the stickiness of the users behind me, I found that it was so contradictory and incomprehensible. But I feel that both ends are right, so what should I do? ! There is quite a sense of gap between ideal and reality (/cover face).
While meeting your own needs, you can come and go as you want, not restricted by products, but only by your own needs. Even the use of various functions in the product should be used as you want, not restricted by the product, but only based on your own needs. Freedom to come and go, move as you want, but this freedom is limited, limited by the functions provided by the product and the interaction methods provided by the product, just like the freedom in reality, as long as it is legal and you can do it, you can can do it.
Imagine two identical products. There are no restrictions when users use product A and its functions, but users need to perform other operations (even operations that are not related to the required functions, such as watching advertisements) when using product B and its functions. Which product will most users choose?
The same demand is on two different platforms, one is time-consuming and labor-intensive to obtain, and the other is extremely simple to obtain. In terms of product experience (aside from those operating strategies), which one will users choose?
But now more and more products are beginning to introduce the idea of games, from daily check-in to daily tasks, to this year’s Taobao Double Eleven’s building (how free are the people who play building! But that’s all there is to it) Idle people are the real main consumers of Taobao and Alibaba’s ecology, only they have time to spend on “how to buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop chops better) in Taobao and Alibaba ecology, only they have time to spend on “how to be better and more affordable” And a deposit, I just want to buy something on Double Eleven, is it so difficult!
Under various time-consuming and labor-intensive strategies to drive users to use products with profits, user stickiness has increased, but has user loyalty increased? I don’t think, I think this kind of loyalty is just a kind of obedience, which can be abandoned at any time.
Let me give you an example from my side: Many people around me who are “proficient in using third-party shopping platforms such as Taobao, JD.com, and Suning” use Pinduoduo to bargain for 0 yuan to buy things, but when they really want to spend money to buy things, Pinduoduo Never their first choice.
Before WeChat, the domestic instant messaging brother must be QQ. Under the impact of WeChat, QQ launched a light chat version, and it was upgraded to the current TIM in response to mobile office. Compared with QQ, which has a whole set of rainbow diamond value-added services and business related to other Tencent products, TIM only uses the functions required in mobile office, and all irrelevant functions are discarded.
I just want to chat for a while and get things done, why are you pushing me so many advertisements (even the blank space to the left of the send button in the chat box)! I just want to finish the job quietly. What QQ music did you push me? Does the boss not deduct money for listening to songs at work on QQ? You may say that QQ and TIM target different groups of people, but you must know that when WeChat first started, it was only a QQ authorized login, and TIM can directly replace QQ by upgrading QQ!
Stronger than QQ also chose to compromise in the market changes, Stronger than QQ was surpassed by WeChat (the recently released “Tencent QQ” mini-program is even more embarrassing). Perhaps one day, when WeChat forgets its original intention and is obsessed with all kinds of data, other products will have a chance.
Back to reality, such a powerful product like WeChat can only have some choices of its own, while a powerful product like Taobao still has to design functions to meet the needs of the entire company, not to mention those struggling or just starting products or small businesses. The company can only carry out various operational designs for products in order to match various indicators with the market.
People who make products often face the contradiction between ideal and reality, how to choose? Is it even possible not to make trade-offs? Disaster! It’s hard! Very difficult! I’m so hard.jpeg!
How should a good product be defined? WeChat, Douyin, Wangwang Pesticide, etc. are good products. They meet the needs of users and help companies and investors make profits. But are they still a good product when users rely too much on them, delaying their real-life affairs, or even escaping reality through them?
Talking and talking seems to be far away, but I think this is also very good, I hope everyone can have their own ideas to discuss together and grow together.
Let’s face reality, let’s stay true to ideals
Finally, I would like to ask a question that has troubled me for a long time: Does boiled water have a taste?